Crypto Wealth Sinks $45 Billion While Bitcoin Bros Party

With thousands of cryptocurrency diehards swarming into Manhattan for this week’s Consensus 2018 conference and other industry related events, the prediction from Bitcoin bulls like Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors was that the hype-filled gathering would trigger a market rally.

Alas, not even a trio of (rented) Lamborghinis, a 1,000-person yacht party and a performance by 46-year-old rapper Snoop Dogg could prevent the value of virtual currencies tracked by Coinmarketcap.com from sinking by $45 billion since May 11. Bitcoin, the most popular of the bunch, dropped 3.7 percent this week to $8,117.43 even as Arthur Hayes -- the crypto exchange executive whose firm rented the Lamborghinis -- predicted a surge to $50,000 by year-end.

“While there was not a Consensus bump, our conviction on cryptocurrencies strengthened during the conference,” Lee wrote in a note Friday. He cited over exuberance about the prospects for rising institutional demand and lingering concerns about the regulatory framework for depressing prices...